WSYR 9 is reporting that some temporary traffic lights in the city of Syracuse, NY are so poorly placed that they are actually causing accidents.  The issue seems to stem from the fact that other lights are placed above the intersection at other junctions, but the temporary lights are mounted to the side, on poles.  The temporary light poles were erected to replace the previous light poles, which were so deteriorated that they came crashing down a few months ago.

O’Reilly Radar reports that Motor Trend has reported that Nissan’s newest GT-R model will contain a speed limiter that uses the car’s built in GPS to determine the maximum safe speed.  On highways, the car will be limited to about 110 mph, but the driver can navigate through menus on the car’s computer to enable a special “race” mode if the driver is at a pre-approved race track.  A sign of things to come?

Has it been that long already? Inventor Garrett Morgan Sr. invented the modern traffic signal 85 years ago today after seeing a traffic accident.  More on the anniversary of the traffic light from WFSB.com.

Newsday.com reported that a traffic signal in Elmont, NY fell from the cable holding it up, striking a motorist below.  There was no explanation as to why the traffic signal would have fallen.

The Trans-Texas Corridor, which according to just about all official counts isn’t actually happening, was planned out further at a meeting last night.  Officials insist they have no plans yet. Frankly we don’t believe them! We applaud the residents in Texas for fighting this project and fighting the push to dilute our national sovereignty to create a de facto North American union.

Nothing readers of STOPandGO.org didn’t already know: traffic lights work best when they’re configured properly. The town of Knoxville, TN, is preparing to implement an intelligent traffic control system using loop sensors, cameras, and a centralized computer control to coordinate traffic in the city. This normally wouldn’t be too notable, but check out the bizarre picture of the traffic light featured in this article!

Congress is really trying to ensure it’s approval rating is lower than George Bush now — according to the Wall Street Journal, a congressionally mandated commission will recommend broad upgrades to the nation’s transportation infrastructure financed by a hefty 40 cent per gallon increase in the gas tax. They cite increased need for maintenance and increased cost of that maintenance as a reason for the need to increase the taxes. STOPandGO.org strongly opposes such a sharp rise in gas taxes. A better solution would punish the drivers that cause the damage to the roads in the first place — namely by removing the current tax breaks that provides incentives for individuals to buy large trucks.  Registration fees should be raised on “extreme” oversize vehicles to force the owners to bear the burden of the externalities they are imposing on others. Raising the gas tax somewhat achieves this, but also punishes all drivers which is not fair.

In the United States, unlike the now standard “0.08″ blood alcohol concentration limit that most states have adopted, different states have different laws on drugged driving.  Canada seems to have a similar problem, based on this article, which calls attention to and discusses the issues of quantitatively analyzing a drugged driver’s ability to operate a motor vehicle.

After the European Union created a law requiring drivers to carry a safety vest in their car at all times, Warntex Inc. became one of the largest safety vest suppliers.  Now, it’s setting its sights on the United States.

One thing that we beat around here regularly is that we don’t believe law is always the answer. This is a case where passing a law requiring drivers to have more equipment in their car will have dubious benefits at best. While a safety vest is important if you plan to be standing in the middle of the road, the best way to handle dangerous roadside repairs is to avoid them in the first place. Always pull your car completely out of traffic if you need to make a repair. Otherwise, what are you doing in the road in the first place? On the other hand, if you are qualified with CPR or First Aid, you may want to consider carrying a safety vest in case you ever stop to assist after a motor vehicle accident. But safety vests for everyone? That just sounds like corporatism to the benefit of Warntex at our expense.

The National Motorists Association and STOPandGO.org both agree: red light cameras are a detriment to safety and exist for purely political reasons.   The NMA has taken the time to compile a list of five major studies that revealed traffic cameras actually increase, and not decrease, the number of accidents at intersections.   This is an excellent resource for anyone researching traffic cameras.